"I AM ASLEEP!"

I don't think she was thinking when she answered me ... My irritation has been rising, listening to my little one continue to make noise upstairs. It's 10:07 and bedtime was 8:30. Chores weren't done, so she didn't get in bed until 8:50 and after she read her book, wrote a few words, and I tucked her in, it was 9:00 ... over an HOUR AGO! It's a school night and I have been consistently sleep deprived, and my earlier warning obviously didn't have much of an effect. I've been calm and quiet, but now I'm getting crabby wondering if she's got dolls in bed with her.

She's not being noisy, mind you. But her bedroom is right above my office. I'm working on a few things but in the back of my mind is the thought that she's losing sleep when I hear the bed creaking and other soft sounds going on.

I call up the stairs in a somewhat irritated voice, "This is your last warning! If I keep hearing noise and have to come up there, you won't be happy about it!" There's a little fluttering but no response. "M? Are you sleeping?" The small but emphatically determined voice responds, "I AM ASLEEP!" I pause for a moment (stifiling a laugh) ... then respond, "I don't think so!"